Woven mat



i950 L. FISCHER EI'AL 2,958,923

' WOVEN MAT Filed Nov. 27, 1957 jig 1.

196,-? 1% II! I States nite WOVEN MAT Filed Nov. 27, 1957, Ser. No. 699,270

3 Claims. (Cl. 28-78) This invention relates generally to woven mats, as for example used in table settings and as doilies or runners for use on bureaus, buffets and the like for decoration and to carry articles placed on tables and the like. More particularly the invention relates to a woven mat in which selected strands of synthetic resinous material are suitably inter-woven in conventional manners to achieve nonuniform texture or weave effects which are characteristic of more expensive, prestige fabrics such as coarse, hand- Woven linen or woolens, shantung, fabrics made from hand spun yarns, so-called monks cloth, and the like, made from natural yarns.

In our United States Letters Patent No. 2,557,819, issued June 19, 1951, for an invention entitled Woven Fabric there was disclosed a woven mat in which regenerated cellulose weft strands were woven with conventional or natural yarns forming the warp. The regenerated cellulose is a synthetic plastic material, commonly known as cellophane, and is available in the form of sheets which are individually folded and compressed to a flattened configuration comparable to a tape or strip, but having appreciable thickness. The patented fabric was characterized by the use of conventional or natural yarns having substantially the same configuration as the cellophane weftnamely, a wide flattened appearance. The warp was formed by using groups of such strands of natural yarn whose total width for each pick was of the same order as the width of individual picks of the cellophane strands. It was necessary to use the multiple strand weft picks for strength, and the side by side grouping of the strands making up each pick of the Weft provided the flatness and provided the emphasis in the appearance of the weft which was desirable.

In the manufacture of mats of the patented structure, it was found that the fabric at all times had the appearance of a substantially uniform all-over weave, with the texture seemingly made up of equal and/or uniform weft and warp picks. This was not a fact, because, although the natural yarn picks were quite uniform, the cellophane strands forming the weft were anything but uniform in width. The process of folding contributed some to this effect, but probably more important was the difliculty, if not impossibility, of evenly winding the relatively stiff and hard to handle cellophane strand upon the shuttle, coupled with the characteristic uneven paying off of the cellophane strand from the shuttle during its passage through the picks of the warp.

The eye of an observer, we have found, lacks the ability to pick out uneven texture in an all-over pattern such as produced by a fabric whose warp and Weft are formed of interlaced picks of generally the same width. The checkerboard-like pattern seems quite uniform.

' This invention is quite substantially different from that of the said patent, since in the woven mat of this invention, the non-uniform character of the regenerated cellulose strand is emphasized and enhanced and caused to give the mat an appearance of the rough, hand-woven, or hand-loomed fabrics of nonuniform weave. Such tent fabrics are in great demand because of their random textures, their novel ornamental and artistic effects, and because of their rough and primitive appearance which seems to be in more harmonious keeping with the decor of simple and functional modern furnishings presently in vogue.

It was discovered that if the strand used to form the weft is uneven, as would be caused by not correcting the difficulties encountered in folding the regenerated cellulose and by encouraging and deliberately causing the uneven and twisting unwinding of the strand from the shuttle during the weaving process, an extremely wide difference between the width of the warp and weft strands will result in the desired random-weave effect. In other words, it was found that if the warp is formed of an extremely narrow strand, compared with that of the weft, the observer will automatically disregard the optical effect of the warp, concentrating upon the weft, and will readily see the unevenness thereof.

It was further found that through the use of relatively fine, monofilament synthetic resin strands, the required strength can be achieved with the desired effects through the formation of the warp of such strands. The effect is enhanced through the use of substantially translucent warp strands, and is further heightened through the use of relatively oqaque weft materials.

An important object of the invention is to provide a woven mat of the character described having a random or non-uniform weave effect characteristic of hand-made or rough woven linens, shantungs and the like, albeit which is formed of synthetic materials substantially less expensive than the yarns used to weave the said rough or random weave fabrics.

The invention herein is concerned with overcoming a very important disadvantage of prior mats, such as those made of spun yarns, such as natural or synthetic. Prior mats, although in most cases washable, were not readily dried, especially where'natural yarns were used, Furthermore, such mats spun yarn strands stained readi-' ly, and were not easily rid of such stains.

Accordingly, an important object of the invention is to provide a mat of woven fabric which is formed of strands of material totally impervious to moisture, and hence readily wiped or dried, and in which the usual type of stains encountered in the use thereof will not materially affect the same.

Another object of the invention is to provide a Woven mat of the character described in which the weft comprises a plurality of narrow flattened strands of plastic material having an irregular configuration transversely thereof, both as to width and thickness, albeit having a substantially uniform average configuration over long lengths thereof, and the warp comprises a plurality of strands of monofilament synthetic resin, but each pick of weft being substantially wider than each pick of warp, the interlaced strands co-operating to afford a non-uniform or random weave effect characteristic of rough home-spuns, hand woven linens, or shantung fabrics or the like.

In the patented fabric described, novel fringe was provided by extending the strands of natural yarns of the warp beyond the last picks of the weft at opposite ends of the mat. Since the groupings of the warp picks were formed of strands or threads, arranged side by side, the fringe when separated seemed to have a continuous appearance. The difficulty encountered was that the fring had little body without the support of the cellophaneweft, and hence did not lie neatly, tended to twist and mat during laundering, and frayed easily.

It is an object of the invention herein described 9 provide a place mat having fringes which are provided by extending the monofilament warp strands past the i ment material. 3 vinylidene chloride which is available as a monofilament strand under the trademark Velon manufactured by weft pick, said fringe portions being characterised by their resistance to twisting and knotting and having considerably more body than natural yarn so as to retain their shape and stand out from the mat for longer periods of time.

Another object of the invention is to provide a woven mat of the character described in which a plurality of monofilament warp strands are more closely spaced adjacent lateral edges of the mat parallel to the said monofilament strands thereby re-enforcing said mat along the length of said lateral edges.

Other objects of the invention reside in the provision of a woven mat of the character described which is distinguished by its very colorful, attractive and decorative appearance, which is economical to manufacture, which is strong and durable and which is especially resistant to staining thereof by solid or liquid foods.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent as the description thereof evolves. To facilitate understanding of the invention, a preferred embodiment has been described in detail in the specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing. It is contemplated that minor variations in the structural features of the invention may occur to the skilled artisan without sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary, enlarged plan view of a corher of the woven mat embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken through the mat along the line 2-2 of Fig. l and in the direction indicated.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view on a greatly enlarged scale of a section monofilament strand employed as part of the warp of the mat.

Fig. 4 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, of the completed mat.

Referring now to the drawings, the woven mat embodying the invention is designated generally by the reference character in Fig. 4. As illustrated in Fig. 4, the mat 10 is rectangular, however, other configurations are feasible in accordance with conventional weaving techniques. A corner of the completed mat is illustrated on a greatly enlarged scale in Fig. 1 wherein the weft strands or picks are designated 12 and the warp strands or picks are designated 14.

Each of the weft strands 12 is formed from a synthetic resinous material, of which several have been found to be advantageous. It is required that each strand 12 have appreciable thickness and be irregular or nonuniform in both width and thickness along the length thereof in the completed mat although having relatively uniform dimensions over long lengths, and that the Width thereof be substantially greater than that of a warp strand 14. A suitable material for making said weft strands is regenerated cellulose, commonly known as celolphane, which is available in the form of thin, transparent sheets. A strand -is formed by folding such a sheet of cellophane upon itself a plurality of times and compressing same into a flat, narrow tape-like member having substantial thickness. One such length is woven back and forth through the warp picks, being reversed at the edges of the mat, hence forming a continuous single strand through the entire mat. Another suitable material is polyester resin. Specifically, unique effects have been realized with a polyethylene-phthalate polymer manufactured by the I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Inc., and sold under the trademark Mylar. Such Mylar strands may have a silver finish which in the completed mat contributes to a unique and attractive weave appearance.

The warp strands each are formed from a monofila- A suitable resin for this purpose is Firestone Plastics Co. This monofilament material is thermoplastic and has substantially more body and strength than spun yarn. An enlarged partial view of a strand 14 of monofilament material is illustrated in Fig. 3. The diameter of said strand is considerably less than the width of a strand 12, this differential in dimension between the two strands 12 and 14 being very important in realizing the non-uniform Weave effect of mat 10. Monofilament strands 14 are available in individual colors of great variety which When the mat 10 is made with cellophane strands are visible through the cellophane and thereby contribute a very unusual and beautiful appearance. This is attributed to the unusual Weave pattern of the colored monofilament strands and the celolophane, which will be described more fully subsequently herein.

Another important feature of the invention is that although Weft and warp strands of plastic material are utilized in manufacture of the mat 10, conventional weaving techniques and machinery can still be employed. Thus, as seen in Fig. l, the weft is a continuous strand return-folded as at 16 along the lateral edge 18 and along the opposite lateral edge of the mat. At each end of the mat there is a fringe 20 which is formed by con tinuing the individual monofilaments 14 beyond the left weft pick 12a of the medial body portion 21 of the mat. Because of the monofilamentary nature of the warp strands, the fringe strands are resilient and stand away from body 21. The lines of stitching 22 substantially parallel with and on opposite sides of the last pick 12a serve to secure the individual monofilament strands 14 to said pick so that said strands will not pull loose. To re-enforce the lateral edges 18 of the mat, the several monofilament picks 14a, 14b and adjacent each edge 18 may be arranged closer one to the other than in the remainder of the mat. This closer grouping of the several picks 14a, 14b and 14c further assists in the returnfolding of the weft strands as indicated at 16.

The Weaving of such synthetic resin strands 12 and 14 in a conventional manner achieves a mat 10 having an unusual and highly desirable weaving effect. This weave effect may be characterized as non-uniform or random and closely simulates the weave effect achieved in the case of rough or hand-made linen and shantung fabrics. It will be noted from Fig. 1 that weft strands or picks 12 each are of irregular or non-uniform width along the length thereof and are much wider than the warp strands or picks 14 which can be uniform in width. Referring to Fig. 2, the sectional view shows that the strands 12 are not of uniform thickness. This phenomenon is inherent in the operation of folding and compressing the cellophane strands and from the weaving technique described so that the weave effect is a random one which is similar to that achieved in linen fabrics, for instance. In addition, the non-uniform thickness of the strands 12 causes the surfaces of the mat to have a knubby or rough contour.

The non-uniform or random weave effect of the fabric described is evident in several different ways. Mats or similar articles which are made using translucent strands, and most monofilament resins are translucent, exhibit the random weave effect when laid upon a surface through the reflection of light from the mat, not decreased by the monofilament strands. The generally parallel wider strands dominate, emphasizing their uneven texture. Held before light, as there used upon glass surfaces, or under similar circumstances, the double-viewed monofilament strands provide a novel effect, also Without detracting from the random weave effect.

Mats which are made using the monofilament strands for the warp and opaque strands for the weft exhibit the random Weave even more strongly, because the contrast between the much wider weft and the warp is always emphasized, resulting in the effect of the monofilament strands being subdued even more than in the case of the translucent weft mats. In addition, where the weft is formed of a material which has a silvery reflective surface, such as the polymer described above, each twist and non-uniformity of the weft is more readily seen by the observer and the non-uniform appearance heightened.

The mats are washable and can be dried immediately because they have no spun yarn materials in their Weave. The synthetic plastic materials from which the warp and Weft strands are made resist stain and discolor. The fringe 20 being formed from the mono-filaments 14 does not collapse into the body of the mat and enhances the decorative and ornamental appearance of the mat.

It is believed the invention has been described sufficiently to enable the skilled artisan to understand the same and practice the principles thereof. These principles have been set forth in the claims hereto appended in language desired to be construed as broadly as is commensurate with the progress in the arts and sciences contributed by the invention.

What it is desired to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a woven mat comprising a warp and weft assemblage of strands forming a medial body portion, said Warp comprising a plurality of narrow monofilament synthetic plastic strands of substantially uniform diameter, said weft comprising a continuous strand of gathered flexible sheet material of substantially greater thickness and width than said Warp material and being non-uniform in both thickness and width, said medial body portion being characterized by the contrasting non-uniformity of said weft and uniformity of said warp, said medial body having a pair of opposite ends and said warp strands being extended beyond said medial body at each end thereof to form a fringe thereat, and stitch means securing said weft and warp strands at both ends of said medial body portion.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a woven mat comprising: a weft and Warp assemblage of strands forming a medial body portion and end fringe portions, said warp comprising a plurality of a thin mono-filament strands of polymerized vinylidene chloride resin of substantially uniform thickness and width; said weft comprising a. continuous strand of a flat, tape-like gathered flexible sheet material of substantially greater thickness and width relative said warp material, said strand comprising the weft member being substantially non-uniform in both thickness and width and being formed of a multiply folded synthetic plastic sheet member; said warp strands being extended beyond said medial body portion at each end thereof to form end fringe portions, and stitch means securing said weft and warp strands at both ends of said medial body portion.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a woven mat of synthetic material including a warp and weft assemblage, said warp comprising a plurality of narrow monofilament plastic strands of substantially uniform diameter, said Weft comprising a continuous unbroken strand of gathered flexible ribbon material, said weft being nonuniform in width and thickness, said Weft and warp being woven interlaced with said warp having a Width substantially less than the width of the Weft strand, said mat being principally characterized by said contrasting uniformity between said weft and warp, a pair of opposite ends, the warp strands being extended beyond the last Weft portion at each of said ends forming thereby a fringe, and stitch means securing said weft and warp strands at both said ends.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 359,503 Eisenhart Mar. 15, 1887 1,829,299 Rosenstein Oct. 27, 1931 1,962,190 Ginn June 12, 1934 2,557,819 Fischer et al. June 19, 1951 2,585,212 Backer Feb. 12, 1952 

